THE PREMIERSHIP SEASON BEGINS

I had some more parcels to collect in the village so I headed down there early this afternoon.  One parcel was at the Esso Garage and two were at Tesco.  I had collected the first one and was walking to Tesco when I bumped into my cousin Arthur.  Hadn't seen him for ages.  We sat on one of the benches on Church Green and had a good catch up.  We were there for over an hour.  Carried on to Tesco, did a bit of shopping, got my parcels and headed home.

Around 3.30pm I caught a bus to Newcastle to go to the footie. Kick off was 5.30pm. Newcastle were playing Aston Villa.    I decided to get to the ground early in case there were long queues due to digital ticketing problems.  When I got to my turnstile there was no queue at all.  Contactless didn't work on my digital ticket but the barcode did so I was able to get into the ground.  I was very early but the weather was warm and sunny and I enjoyed just sitting in my seat watching St James Park filling up and enjoying the atmosphere.  Blip shot shows one of the flags opposite me and the two mascots Monty Magpie and Maggie Magpie.

Just before kick off a large flag was unfurled across part of the East Stand - and I was underneath it. Great fun. I have added an Extra collage of the volunteers getting the flag ready and then holding it when it was in position. 

Newcastle fans didn't have to wait long for the first home goal of the season.  One of our new signings Sandro Tonali scored on the 6th minute.  However the lead was short lived as Aston Villa equalised on the 11th minute. However Alexander Isak scored 2 goals, then Callum Wilson got the ball in the net and finally another new signing Harvey Barnes scored in added time.  Final score Newcastle 5 Aston Villa 1.  A great start to the season .

Bus home was OK although I had to get one that didn't stop near where I live so I had a bit of a walk when I got off ( I would have had a long wait in Newcastle for my usual bus ). I got home around 9pm.  Wish we could get back to kicking off at 3pm on a Saturday but I guess games have to fit in with the TV schedules these days.

Steps today - 12,369